Son of Primus: Prime Edition
by RavenMechanical
Summary: (Alternate version of my "Son of Primus" Story) After being abducted and changed into a Cybetronian, Carlos "Stripes" Lopez, with help from the Autobots must now face off against not only the Decepticons who don't have a sinister bias this time, but against forces beyond his imagination! For he holds a power not even he is aware of! The Power of Primus!
1. Prolouge-Ch 1

_Author's note: This alternate version of "Son of Primus" takes place in the_ _Transformers: Prime universe. Compiled from old notes and from salvaged material I've had for a while, this is what I originally had planned this story to be like. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it.  
_

 **TransFormers: Son of Primus**

 **Prime Edition**

Prologue

Vengeful Vows

Stripes, a white and blue BMW M3 GTR, pondered over his new-found existence as a Cybertronian. He didn't want this. He didn't want to get dragged into a million-year-old war for power. He didn't want any of it. He couldn't have any of it on his hands. There he stood, on the edge of a large plateau, overlooking Carbon Canyon, tears of energon running down his faceplate. He wept for what he had lost, what he could not go back to...

"Damn you, Megatron... Damn you..." He sobbed, clutching the area of his chest where he had mangled the Decepticon insignia they had inscribed on him. The very symbol they had tried to burden him . His tears did not cease to flow. He had barely escaped the abuse and clutches of the Decepticons, the badge they had imprinted on his chest etched, scratched, and worn beyond recognition. He was not going to be part of their conflict. He was no one's pawn. His hand servo clenched into a fist of rage as sadness and despair coursed through his circuits, the feeling going into his very spark. He heard car engines revving through the canyon, seeing the headlights of various models drifting through the corners and hairpins on the road. Street racers. They were always challenging each other in the canyon. Contests of skill. He remembered when he was one of them. When he was human...

How Stripes longed for his lost humanity. Granted, he didn't have much of a life as human street racer. But it was much more than he had now. Back then, he had some acquaintances, a girlfriend he was planning to marry, a crew, a home, even some money. Now, that was all gone. The Decepticons had taken everything from him... Stripes missed all of his human friends, aqaintances: Nikki, Neville, Samuel... He even missed some of his rivals, and Cross! Cross, of all people!

It had been several months since his change to a Cybertronian. Many more months since his last meet up with his old crew in Palmont. Code name: Stickshift. He wondered how they were all doing. His human picture was all over the news: everyone was looking for him since his last encounter with the law. It wasn't pretty. He had to outmaneuver undercover cops in that one. Street racing units. That was when he encountered Megatron and his faction.

Stripes remembered what happened: Megatron was charging at him in vehicle mode. His human self was forced to turn the car into an unrecoverable drift, and it rolled the car. Shortly afterwards, Megatron grabbed him straight out of his own car, the roof torn off after Megatron had scanned it. They somehow had knocked him out. Either that, or the accident injured him enough that he lost consciousness. The next thing Stripes knew, he woke up like this: A freak of science and nature.

The Decepticons beat him, tried to break him many times over, but Stripes kept his patience as best he could. He waited for an opportunity to escape, and found it. Several weeks ago, he had finally found his was back to Palmont, only to find they had officially declared him dead. He had driven by his grave; A simple headstone decorated with a big block engine engraving, the name reading clear in the stone his human name: Carlos Lopez.

He tuned his radio to a station he usually listened to when he drove. It was playing a song by Linkin Park he recognized: New Divide. At first, it only seemed to deepen his sorrow. But then, he saw a light. A light within his soul, his very being.

"Megatron..." He whispered. "You took everything from me. But I won't let you control me, as my friends are with me, now and forever. No longer will I be afraid. Somehow, I will find strength, find guidance. Those you send after me will be ashamed, and disgraced. I will not let what you did to me mold me into what you wanted me to become. I will not give up... I will triumph!"

Chapter 1  
Angel's Highway

Route 444  
Jasper, Nevada - City Limits...

Bumblebee drove down the lone highway, on alert. Optimus and the Autobots were all on patrol once more, readying themselves once again for a Decepticon attack that they felt was coming.  
Somehow, Megatron had returned again, though something was different about him. Bee couldn't place his finger on it, but he knew something was different about him. Oh, well. It didn't really matter. Bumblebee had his pipes back at least, so he could speak again. Thank Primus for that.  
At that moment, a blue and white modified sports car blew by him at insane speeds! Bumblebee could have sworn he was going at least one-hundred and sixty mph! He started after the car, but it sped up. He recognized the make: A BMW M3. It was clearly modified: Spoiler, body kit, custom exhaust...  
Then he noticed when he scanned the car that it didn't have a driver! Was this a new Decepticon? He sped up alongside the car, which seemed to keep increasing speed as they rapidly approached the city of Jasper.  
Finally, the BMW hit the brakes, and went into a flawless drift on the exit ramp. It then took off once again, engine howling as it tore down the street, Bee still in pursuit.  
Bee chased him down to the suburbs. Where were the cops in this city, he wondered? They tore through neighborhoods, catching much unwanted attention from close calls as they drifted through corners with racing precision.  
As they got back onto a highway, Bee had finally had enough of this car's game. He pulled up and made a pit maneuver. The BMW attempted to correct itself, but it was futile. It spun around from the sudden loss of traction on the rear wheels, and stopped as it slid off the road into the dust. Then it transformed! Bee followed suit, ready for combat, but the opponent wasn't making any hostile moves! Instead, it was laughing! Though it wasn't a sinister laugh; more of a laugh of glee, or humor! As if it was amused!  
"Well, no one's ever been able to keep up with me like that before!" The bot laughed. "Good pit, by the way! Not even Cross could do that to me!"  
Bumblebee kept his guard up. He noticed the badge on his chest, but it was so scratched up and worn, the symbol wasn't even legible. Even the color was faded from what appeared to be intentional wear and tear.  
"Well? Are you going to introduce yourself? Because I know you're not one of them." The other bot asked, a smile on his faceplate.  
Bumblebee was silent. One of who? What was this bot's game?  
"Hello?" The unidentified bot waved his hand. "Do you even speak?"  
"Yes, I can speak!" Bumblebee snapped in annoyance. "And I'm the one who should be asking the questions! Who are you? Are you a Decepticon?"  
The other bot gave Bee a sour look. "Do I look like a Decepticon?" It asked in annoyance. "My name is Stripes, by the way." He then tuned his radio to a station playing rock music, which he danced to.  
Bee's processor felt like it was ready to crash. Whatever he was, Stripes' behavior wasn't making any logical sense whatsoever. His carefree attitude reminded him of Miko.  
"Enough!" Bumblebee said, starting to worry that someone might see them. "Go back to vehicle mode and follow me..."  
Stripes chuckled. He did as he was told, and followed Bumblebee to where he was taking him: The Autobot base.

 _On board Nemesis..._

Megatron held his cannon up to Starcream's face. His patience was at an end.  
"You claim you've scanned the whole planet, yet you haven't found any trace of him?!" He snapped. "He couldn't have just vanished into thin air!"  
"My liege..." Starscream begged. "Please, forgive me... I-I will send out recon teams, and scout the planet personally. We won't rest until we find him..."  
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU JUST STANDING HERE, FOR?!" Megatron roared. "GET ON IT, NOW!"  
Starscream ran off of the bridge with haste to organize a recon team. Megatron slammed his foot down in disgust, and sulked down into his throne with a disgusted groan. He was so angry, he could feel the energon and coolant pumping through his systems.  
"Idiot..." He sighed, slowly calming himself. "Sometimes I wonder if he knows his intake from his exhaust..." He turned to see Soundwave walk up next to him.  
"Yes?" Megatron said with an unenthusiastic deadpan. Soundwave then gave him a small report. He had found someone who could help to track down their escapee. A human, dubbed as "Nathan Cross." Megatron felt pleased by this new news. He'd need to see this human in person.  
"Bring him to me." He ordered.

 _Autobot Base  
Jasper, Nevada  
_  
Optimus looked over the scans as he saw Bumblebee approach. He was with another bot.  
"Wonder who that is?" Ratched said, watching them enter the base. He figured the other bot was fairly young, considering the disguise he had taken up: A modified BMW M3 GTR; A "punk car" as he would have put it.  
Jack and Arcee watched Bee enter with the new bot. They changed to robot mode, and saw the mangled badge on his chest. They couldn't tell whether it was an Autobot or Decepticon insignia. It was just too mangled to make out.  
"Who are you?" Optimus asked, approaching the bot.  
"Stripes." The bot answered casually. He looked around. "Nice pad." He went over and found a place to sit down, propping his legs on a rather large crate, arms behind his head.  
"Are you a Decepticon?" Ratchet asked, ever cautious. "You don't have any I.D. Markings."  
Stripes lowered his head. He appeared to relax, but his processor was racing to come up with a believable explanation. All he knew about them was the war... Yes, that's it!  
"No, I'm not a Decepticon. I'm just a drifter... I've been looking for a planet to call home for a while. For many vorns. I wasn't part of the war. Just wanted to find a place to settle down... And that was long before the Decepticons showed up here." He lied smoothly, showing no signs of unease.  
Bulkhead was angry. "Why didn't you do something?! You could have helped us!"  
"I didn't want to get involved." Stripes said flatly. "The war is not my problem."  
Optimus knew there was more to this bot than there seemed to be, but knew he was not a threat to anyone here. At least not at the moment.  
"Your appearance is a surprise to us, though not unwelcome." Optimus said. "We've been searching for someone. You might be able to help us, Drifter."  
Stripes took a look at Optimus without moving from his position. "How so?"  
"The Decepticons have begun to abduct humans. We don't know why though. However, we believe we know their next target: a former law enforcement officer. Goes by the name Nathan Cross."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Crisscrossed

Stripes's optics lit up brightly, as he nearly fell off the metal crates he was siting on. Cross?! Of all people they had to go after, they chose Cross?!  
"Why..." He murmured, sitting up.  
"Well, that got his attention." Arcee said sarcastically.  
"He's not the only one they've abducted recently." Optimus continued. "Two other humans have been abducted by them. We got there as soon as we could, but we were unable to save them... All we could get from them were their names: Clarence and Darius."  
Two other humans... That wrenched Stripes to the core. But why Darius? And Clarence... They couldn't be talking about Razor, could they?  
"Is something wrong?" Optimus asked.  
"I..." Stripes struggled to get the words out. "I... got my disguise from one of Razor's stolen cars... I also raced with Darius once. They... They were skilled drivers..."  
"How do you know?" Arcee asked.  
"Because I raced against them before." Stripes answered. "Though I used a different disguise both times..."  
"Then that means you must have come across Cross." Ratchet deduced. "We know about that whole blacklist bit in Rockport. It was all over the news."  
So they knew about Rockport. Stripes sighed. "Yeah, you could say I'm on his 'most wanted list.' "  
"Then it appears you may be able to make amends with this opportunity, drifter." A voice said. A human then stepped out from behind a corner.  
It was Cross. Stripes nearly short-circuited. "Didn't you say you were just searching for him?" He asked.  
"We lied." Arcee said simply. "We needed him to help find you. After all, you are on his 'most wanted list.' "  
"I heard you tell your story, pinstripes." Cross said. "However, some things about it seem to rub me the wrong way."  
"Why is that?" Stripes asked.  
"Call it 'former cop intuition.' Old habits die hard, as I'm sure you know." Cross said in a cocky way.  
That's when alarms started to go off. Bumblebee looked up from a monitor.  
"Decepticons incoming!" He shouted.  
Oh great, Stripes thought. They found me again. He looked to the ceiling to see it start to cave in, Megatron diving for him in jet mode.

Then he woke up.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Boxed in

Junkyard  
Jasper, Nevada

Stripes bolted upright out of recharge. He got up off of the cold ground where he lay. It was all a dream. Cross... The Autobots... Everything. Except for his escape from the Decepticons.  
But why had Megatron done this to him, he continued to wonder. Why make him Cybertronian? Why take everything away from him just to do this? What purpose did it serve?  
He looked around, and felt relief that no one else was around. He doubt anyone would be friendly to a freak of nature like him. These nightmares were getting to seem all too real. He started to think he was losing his mind.  
"I need to get out of here," he thought. "I need to drive."  
So he changed modes, got out of the junkyard, onto the highway, and did exactly that. The road was long and lonely, no other cars were on it. It was a desolate highway, and the night was still young.  
He drove for several hours, doing well to keep at the speed limit. He didn't need any more heat on him, the way things stood now. More heat, meant more attention, and that would surely attract Megatron.  
That's when he saw the same car ahead of him he saw in his dream; A black and yellow hot rod! Stripes did his best to retain his composure. its probably just coincidence, he thought. Just coincidence, nothing more.  
He passed it without event, as it was going twenty under the speed limit. He remained calm.  
That's when he saw a roadblock up ahead, with a rescue vehicle, a SUV, and a motorcycle. Looked like an accident. He immediately went to turn around, but the yellow and black hot rod blocked his path. What the hell, he thought. He blared his horn, but the other car didn't move.  
Then, the hot rod transformed into a robot, just like in his dream!  
"Don't be afraid..." It started to say.  
But the words were too late. Stripes peeled out, and went off road into the dust. The next thing he knew, the green SUV pulled up alongside him, with the motorcycle, which didn't have a rider, and emergency rescue vehicle. They boxed him in against a canyon rock face, and transformed as well!  
Stripe had no choice but to change as well. He transformed into robot mode, and got into a fighter's stance; He had taken martial arts classes when he was human. Never expected to use them in a giant robot fight.  
"Easy, we're not here to hurt you." The green one said.  
Right now Stripes didn't know what to think. Then, he felt weak. The Cybertronian equivalent of dizziness. He fell to one knee, trying to maintain his balance.  
"Here, let me take a look at you..." The emergency bot stepped forward.  
Stripes turned his left arm servo into a Gatling gun. "Get away! Don't come any closer!" He held it up weakly. He may have been dizzy, but he could still inflict some damage with his weapon.  
"We know your scared, but you don't need to fear us," The yellow bot said. "I'm Bumblebee. We're Autobots, from the planet Cybertron. We're here to help you. Remember the dream?"  
Stripes' looked at Bumblebee, bewildered. How did they know about that?  
"That was us." Bumblebee continued. "We were using some new technology we came up with to find you. It reaches into your subconscious, your very spark. Trust us, Carlos, we're not here to hurt you."  
They knew his name. His human name. But how? Stripes' felt like he was going to black out; stasis hovered over his chassis. He couldn't hold up his Gatling gun. He let it fall to his side, transforming it back into his servo.  
"What's wrong with him, Ratchet?" Bumblebee asked the emergency bot. Ratchet slowly walked forward, and turned his arm into what appeared to be a scanning tool, running it across Stripes' chassis. Stripes didn't protest, he could not even stand, after all.  
"He's suffering from extreme energon deprivation." Ratchet answered. "Seems he's gone for months without some. Also needs some repairs on his intake. It looks... rattled, to put it mildly." Ratchet then got out a small can, popping off the top in a similar way to a soda can. "Drink this."  
Stripes wasn't sure what was going on anymore, but knew he felt the human equivalent of thirst. He had felt it for some time. He had drank gasoline wherever he could get it, but it wasn't enough. He still had felt weak when he was in robot mode. Besides that, gasoline was bitter. No matter how fresh it was. So he cautiously took the can into his shaky hands, looking over the purple fluid inside. It looked strangely enticing. He drank. It tasted heavenly, like fine fruit juice. He felt it warm his fuel tank.  
"Months without energon... How did he survive?" The motorcycle bot, whom was female, asked.  
Ratchet continued to scan. "It appears he's been surviving off of a petroleum-based fuel. Gasoline."  
The green SUV bot cringed. "Nasty... No bot should have to live off of that."  
Stripes finished downing the contents of the small can. He looked at Ratchet.  
"...Thank you." He said. "But why help me?"  
"Because we, like you, want to know why Megatron did this to you." Bumblebee answered. "Smokescreen, I need you to bring the ship in. We found him."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
Trip

 _Salvation - Autobot Scout Ship  
En route back to Cybertron...  
_

At first, Stripes was a bit uneasy about leaving earth. Bumblebee couldn't blame him; It was natural to feel fear after leaving everything you've known behind. He walked down to the lower deck of the scout ship to the med bay, seeing Ratchet putting Stripes through repairs, his chest open. He wasn't complaining, either. Bumblebee knew a troubled soul when he saw one, and Stripes fit every definition of the term in his databanks.  
"You'll need to take it easy for a few solar cycles while I repair your intake." Ratchet said to him.  
"How long is a solar cycle?" Stripes asked, a little confused.  
"Twenty-four hours." He answered, getting to work. "Now, just what were you doing all that time? Your intake is so jarred out of place it looks as if you were ramming cars out of your way in vehicle mode..."  
Stripes put on an all-too-innocent-poker-face. He had gotten into a bit of a pursuit before he had been found, and had to ram his way through a roadblock. That's why he was at the scrapyard. He was hiding.  
"So, I hear we've got a new bot." Bumblebee turned to see Knockout walking past him into the bay. Knockout then made the creepiest comment he would ever hear, his voice smooth.  
"Wow! Looks like I'm not the only one who looks good in steel-belted radials..."  
Stripes' fans immediately kicked in. His facial expression was predictable. He had what Miko or Jack would call an "omg!" look. Ratchet however, just looked at Knockout with irritation.  
"How about you just help me with his repairs?" He said through his clenched jaw as patiently as possible.  
"Of course." Knockout replied, walking up to the other side of the berth Stripes was laying on. "Let's see what we got..."  
Stripes was immediately uncomfortable with Knockout hovering over him.  
"We will have to put you into standby mode for the repairs." Ratchet said as he hooked Stripes up to a monitor.  
"Standby? What is..."  
He didn't get to finish as his optics faded out and closed. He was put into standby mode. Ratchet looked over to Bumblebee, whom was standing in the doorway.  
"He'll be fine." Ratchet said. "Don't worry."

010001001111101010101010111101100110

Stripes was blinded by light all around him. There was a figure in the distance. What was going on? The figure walked up to him. It was an Autobot, colored blue and red, he could barely make it out through the stinging light. It had a look of happiness on its face, optics warm and welcoming.  
"We've been waiting for you." It said in a deep voice. Other figures then walked up behind him. They circled around them, and they all bowed their heads. The light faded, and Stripes saw where he was.  
He was in the middle of a grand Cybertronian city, on top of a large tower! His breath was taken away by his surroundings! He was so high up, he could see every part of the city! Towers of titanium with glass windows lit up better than the towers in new york city! They seemed to stretch on for miles upon miles, flying vehicles and monorails crisscrossing against the skyline, and the sky itself was full of stars that would make the milky way seem like a small tourist attraction! Stripes looked back to the blue and red Autobot, who said one thing.  
"Welcome home."

10000110100011101011101100000101010 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Memory

Stripes came out of standby, sitting up. He was in the med birth, his chest plates closed. The repairs were complete. What was that dream about? He wondered. What did the big red and blue bot mean by "welcome home?" How long had he been out? He looked to his left, seeing Ratchet at a nearby table, doing something with a bunch of computers.  
"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked, looking over in Stripes' direction.  
"...Better. It seems easier to breathe."  
Ratchet then walked over, his scanning tool out again. "Energon flow is steady... Cooling systems read out... Intake functioning at optimal efficiency... Good, coolant and oil pressure is steady. Clean bill of health, you're good to go. All you need now is a bit more energon. That can I gave you three solar cycles ago was only good for about one-quarter of a tank. Go down a few rooms to the supply room, and Bulkhead will give you a can. He's the green one."  
Stripes was feeling a small tinge of thirst again, but nothing like when he was surviving off of premium unleaded. He was grateful for what Ratchet did.  
"Thanks, Ratchet." Stripes said, getting out of the medical berth.  
"That's what I'm here for." Ratchet said. Stripes then went down a few rooms and saw Bulkhead, whom seemed to be expecting him.  
"Hey, kid. Doc told me to be expecting you." He opened some sort of crate, and got out one of the cans like before, except it was slightly bigger. "This should be enough to fill your tank to full."  
Stripes took one of the cans and popped off the top the way Ratchet did on earth. He sipped a bit on the liquid energon. It tasted just as good as the first time. He smiled.  
"So, you were a racer on earth? Seems like you had quite the need for speed..." Bulkhead asked, trying to make conversation.  
Stripes' good mood dropped a few notches, his smile faded.. It pained him to think about what he used to be. What he couldn't go back to. Bulkhead immediately noticed the change, and felt bad.  
"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't bring that up..." Bulkhead started.  
"its not your fault. Don't worry about it." Stripes said. "I'll... Just have to take it in stride, and... Eventually forget I ever lived that life."  
Bulkhead put one of his hands on Stripes' shoulder joint. "I know it hurts, having to leave everything behind. We can only imagine what you're going through right now, but just don't forget; We are all here for you. You are not alone."  
Stripes could feel the tears welling up behind his optics. At least they cared, unlike the Decepticons. If anyone needed proof that these living machines had souls, this was it.  
"A wise prime once told me, 'memories help shape us into who we are.' "Bulkhead continued. "I know it may hurt to remember your human life, but seeing how you were able to escape from the Decepticons and maintain your sanity in the process, I'd say remembering your human past would be worth more than any amount of pain they could ever inflict."  
Stripes felt a tear stream down the side of his faceplate. "Life was beautiful back then. I remember rolling down the window when I drove on the highway. The wind blowing through my hair and across my skin... Every time I got up to race, I could feel the energy it gave me. Even in drag races, which only lasted a few seconds, I could feel it. Regardless if the race lasted minutes, or even just few seconds, I felt free. I felt... Whole. After a while of racing, I found someone whom felt the exact same way." He wiped the tear away with his hand.  
Bulkhead saw where this was going. "You met a femme."  
"Yeah." Stripes said, smiling again at the memory. "She was beautiful... In the human way. Feisty and charismatic. She also was not a bad driver, either. Her name was Mia Townsend."  
"The undercover officer from Rockport." Bulkhead deduced, taking his hand off of Stripes' shoulder joint. "She was on the news when that happened."  
"Yeah." Stripes said. "When she revealed herself to be a cop, she decided to let me get away. I never got to know why, but I know deep down she felt the same way I did. I could tell that from her driving when we first met. She was something special. One of those people that come along once in a lifetime. To be honest, I never was the same after my encounter with her."  
Bulkhead's faceplate formed a smile. "Sounds like you two started to form the human equivalent of a spark bond."  
Stripes once again was puzzled. Bulkhead then sheepishly tried to explain.  
"Spark bonds... are formed among my people by... merging our core sparks together. its a great sign of trust, and... even what a human would consider love."  
"I see." Stripes sipped some more energon form the can he held. He was intrigued, but could tell this was sensitive material form the way Bulkhead spoke about it. "Well, I guess I'll never know the truth, but that is the way I choose to view it; That me and Mia were forming a bond."  
Bulkhead's smile didn't fade one bit on hearing those words. If only their love had been given time to form the bond.  
Unbeknownst to him at the time, that would soon happen.

 _Decepticon Dreadnought Nemesis  
En route to Cybertron...  
_  
Megatron watched the two newly converted bots along with the femme as they emerged from their nanite pods, falling to the floor in robot mode, still in stasis. Their vehicle forms were automobile; One a black, flame painted Mustang GT, the second a heavily modified pursuit C6 Corvette. The femme, however, was extra special; a street racing Mazda RX-8 with red paint. Mia, Cross, and Razor. He figured he'd just let Cross and Razor keep their names. They were good enough. That would be familiar grounds for them. Mia would need a proper name, though. He still searched his databanks for one that would suit her. Though he was positive they would be able to recognize each other, and that Stripes would be able to recognize their forms in a heartbeat.  
"Awaken." He purred loud enough for them to hear. They began to stir. The female was the first to get up as they stirred to life.  
"What happened?" The femme asked, confused. She looked at her hands, then started to panic as she saw the rest of her new form. Megatron was unsurprised. Stripes did the same thing in his conversion. The female then saw Megatron, and screamed, backing up against the wall. That woke Cross. He bolted up and once he saw his changes, he too started to act rashly, lunging at Megatron.  
He was prepared of course. He whipped out his sword and Cross stopped dead on the spot before he impaled himself on the sword.  
"That would be unwise. I just gave you three new life." Megatron said.  
"New life?" Cross snarled. "I'm a freak show now! What kind of life is that?!"  
"Good god..." Razor said, looking over his form. "...What the hell is going on? Wait... This is all a dream. It must have been my drink... Yeah, someone spiked my drink..."  
"I assure you, Razor, this is no dream or hallucination. This is real." Megatron said, looking over into Razor's orange optics. "I know this is confusing for all of you, but there is little time to explain. You've just been converted to Cybertronians, and your presence is required to prevent a catastrophe."  
He had Cross' attention in a snap. "What kind of catastrophe?"  
"One of galactic significance." He lowered his sword, and walked past Cross and Razor to the scared Mazda, slowly extending his hand. This was the complete opposite of what Starscream did with Stripes; He had several drones pummel him in a beat down. According to Starscream, he thought it would "toughen him up." A big mistake. He wouldn't make the same one with these three.  
"You must be thirsty, Miss Townsend." He said. "Come with me. I can take you to where you can get a drink to fill your fuel tank."  
Mia, still unsure if this was real, slowly reached out and took his hand. He was right about one thing; she was thirsty.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Arrival

Bubmblebee worked the controls of the ship as Stripes watched Cybertron come into view outside the window. They had just arrived. Stripes was in awe as he looked at the planet. It was like a giant metal jewel. As they got closer, he could see parts of its surface; canyons of metal, deserts of rust, and many other things he was having trouble wrapping his mind around.  
"its good to be home." Bulkhead said, as Salvation landed at a small spaceport in the sea of rust, Stripes transfixed by the landscape. It was a flat plain of dust-covered, aged metal and concrete roads, with various spires and buildings in places. Cybertron's sun shone brightly through the clear sky, making the metal's scratchy, tarnished finish shine.  
"Wow..." Stripes wispered when they touched down. "its beautiful..."  
Smokescreen gave him a strange look, but Knockout knew what he was referring to. "Yes, it does have its own kind of transfixed beauty, doesn't it?" He said, walking straight up next to Stripes, whom had to resist the urge to inch away.  
"Well, we'd better move out to our base at Ieacon." Bumblebee said, going to the airlock. "It'll be about an hour's drive."  
"Good thing we can pick up radio stations from earth thanks to the comm satellites." Bulkhead laughed. That made Stripes smile. He liked music. At least he still could listen in.  
They exited the ship to the sparsely populated docking port. Only a handful of refugees had returned so far. They walked down to the main road, dust blowing by in the breeze.  
"This is the road to Iacon..." Arcee sighed. "I still can't believe that no one has driven these highways in eons..."  
"Eons?" Stripes looked at the road carefully. They looked nearly new.  
"Yep." Arcee said. Stripes then got a mischievous look in his optics. The need for speed that could never be quenched on Earth...  
"Well then, allow me to give it a trial run! Race you there!" Stripes ran forward, transformed, and peeled out, hitting sixty in seconds as Bulkhead yelled at him to wait up. Stripes then tuned to his favorite euro hits station, playing music in a fast, catchy beat. The landscape blurred by, Stripes hitting speeds he could only could have imagined when he was on Earth! His tires kicked up a lot of dust as he went through a banked curve.  
Bumblebee and Arcee were quick to catch up, but even they seemed to be having trouble matching Stripes' speed. Was he going that fast? He started to wonder. He poured on more speed, the thrill pulsing through his circuits as he left both of them in kicked-up dust. He didn't have a speedometer in front of him, but he could tell he was going more than two-hundred MPH, which was the fastest he'd been able to hit on the Utah salt flats on Earth! He'd never gone this fast in his entire life!  
The city appeared on the horizon after just a few minutes, but Stripes didn't pay much attention as he approached. He was going so fast! The feeling of freedom flowed though his circuits like quicksilver. It seemed that at any moment, he might pass into another dimension... A dimension only reached through speed...  
He tapped his brakes, slowing himself just in time as he approached an exit ramp to the city of Ieacon. He then went into a drift, yelling as loud as his vocalizer would allow. This was incredible! He could get used to this, and was liking it already! He drove though the city's streets, drifting through each corner and intersection. Shortly, he got to the city's center, and power slid to a stop.  
"Sweet! I win!" He yelled as he transformed, jumping up into the air with glee. "Ha ha! I bet I set a record!" He turned off his radio, and looked around. The city was empty! He then got the creeps, not just because the city was so empty and quiet.  
He was having deja-vu. As if he had been here before. Then, it hit him, as he gazed upon the center tower.  
This was the same city he saw in his dream!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Caught again!

"Uh... Hello?" Stripes called out. "Anyone here?"

Silence. He cautiously approached the building's entrance, when he heard Bubmblebee on his radio.

"Slag it, Stripes, come in!" He cursed.

"Bumblebee?" Stripes said. He knew right then that his radio doubled as a c.b.  
"We thought we lost you! I told you to wait up!" Bumblebee snapped. "Where are you?"

"...I'm in Ieacon." Stripes said, looking up at the tower. "The center of the city... Well, At least I think its the center of the city. I'm in front of a large tower that looks over it..."

"The old council building." Bumblebee deduced. "Alright, go inside the building, but stay there and keep your tunes off unless we need a way to find you. The last thing we need is some Decepticon snatching you up out of nowhere."

"Okay. Point taken..." Stripes said.  
Unfortunately, he didn't realize Cross and Razor creeping up on him until it was too late.

Cross and Razor had been silently creeping up, their feet pedes not making a sound. They saw Stripes' display of driving through the city, and had followed. Razor held a copy of the immobilizer in his hand. Granted, it wasn't as powerful as the original, but Megatron said it would do.

Razor got up right behind Stripes as he was talking to someone on his radio. He looked over to Cross. He was in position, and nodded to him. He was taking the shot.

He took the immobilizer and shoved it into Stripes' frame. He cried out in pain, arching his back and grinding his dental bands together. as the current ran through his body. He heard an Autobot yell for Stripes to respond over the radio, but to no avail. Stripes soon went out cold, the foreboding envelope of stasis welcoming him in as he fell into Cross's arms before he even had a chance to hit the ground...

"Stripes! Stripes, come in! Slag it, say something!" Bumblebee yelled, as they raced towards the council building. They had just arrived in Ieacon, and were now on edge thanks to the latest radio transmission they received.

"I've got a fix on him, and two possible targets!" Ratchet said. Bumblebee surged ahead, Arcee right behind him.

They got to the council building, seeing two unknown bots, one with Stripes slung over his shoulder joint. One looked like it was a cop bot, with black and white paint, with siren lights on him. The other he didn't recognize at all.

Bumblebee and Arcee changed modes, aiming their arm cannons "Freeze!" Bumblebee shouted.

"Shit!" The cop bot said "Keep 'em busy, Razor! I need to signal our ride!"

"On it, Cross." Razor said. All the tips of Razor's fingers then opened up to reveal barrels. They were multi-barreled machine guns! "Freeze, huh? How about I just give you 'the finger' instead?" Razor snarled, firing.

"Take cover!" Arcee and Bee dove behind buildings as the street was blanketed by gunfire. Bumblebee then got on his radio.

"Ratchet, we need everyone over here! We need backup! Stripes is being abducted!"

"...And By Decepticons, no less!" Ratchet said.

That's when Bee noticed a shadow loomed over the city. It was the Nemesis.

Bee turned his attention back to Razor, whom was still firing off rounds like no tomorrow. A ground bridge opened up, Cross and Razor running through it as they laid down covering fire. Bee got out from behind the corner he was using as cover, rushing forward in an attempt to get to Stripes before the ground bridge closed.

But it was too late. Cross and Razor stepped through the ground bridge, and it disappeared behind them. The Nemesis then took off, fleeing the scene as it went into orbit.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
Answers

Stripes awoke from stasis, in a dark room. He immediately recognized where he was. He was on the Decepticons' dreadnought, Nemesis. He was in a recharge berth. In the same room where they had changed him into what he was now.

He bolted off the recharge birth, going for the door. It didn't open. He dug his hands in between the seals of the door, trying to force it open. No use. He struck his fist on the door control pad. Nothing. He tried to blow it open with his Gatling cannon, but even that wasn't functioning at the moment.

Desperate, he backed up and ran up to the door, leaping into the air, in an attempt to kick it down. He only succeed in making a dent. After several attempts with no results, he started to panic.

"LET ME OUT!" Stripes yelled repeatedly, punching the door in a frenzied fashion leaving small indentations of his fists. "MEGATRON, OPEN UP THIS DAMN DOOR NOW! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR MY, YOU SORRY SON OF A BITCH! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES, YOU HEAR ME?!"

After several minutes of punching and screaming at the door, he fell to his knees, giving up. His intake took in air as if he couldn't get enough, his anger turning to hopelessness. He started to cry, energon tears going down his face again. He had been captured, and this time, there was no way out...

 _Nemesis - Bridge_

Mia and the others watched Stripes' display on the screen with Megatron, whom let out a sigh from his throne.

"Do we have to keep him locked up?" Mia asked, turning to face Megatron.

"Uh, reality check, Townsend!" Cross intervened with a sneer. "He's kinda livin' la vida loca at the moment! Or did you miss the memo?" He held his hand up near his head, spinning his index finger in the 'crazy' motion. Mia just gave him a look of annoyance.

"Just why is he so special, anyway?" Razor piped up. "I'd scrap his ass right now..."

Megatron got up and walked over to Razor with intent to harm.

"No. You. Will. Not." He said, grabbing Razor by the neck and lifting him off the deck. "And you will _never_ even _THINK_ of doing anything to harm him! If you wish to keep your pipes! Is that clear?" He said, slightly tightening his grip.

"Crystal, sir..." Razor wheezed.

"Good." Megatron released Razor form his grasp, and he fell to the floor with a loud clang.

"Still, I don't see why we need to keep him locked up..." Mia continued.

"He doesn't know what role he is to play in the events to come. Forces intend to hunt him down to destroy him. He needs protection until then." Megatron said, sitting back down.

"Protection from who?" Cross asked.

Megatron sighed again. "In order for me to answer that question, you will have to answer a few of mine."

"Okay..." Mia said, uneasy. "Ask away..."

Megatron then proceeded to ask his questions. They were rather basic: When was he  
born, and who were his parents. Cross told him that when he was human, Stripes didn't have any parents, that he was an orphan. He made emphasis that he entered the justice system when he barely eight years old for joyriding. As for his current age, he was just twenty-four years old.

"Barely a youngling by Cybertronian standards..." Megatron muttered. "Primus, your kin has been so misguided..."

"Primus?" Cross asked.

"its none of your concern." Megatron said.

"Really? Well, I think it is! If it has to do with Carlos!" Mia snapped with an attitude. Starscream's jaw dropped.

"...Did thou just 'sass' lord Megatron?" Starscream managed to say.

"What do you think, jet boy?" Mia replied, sassing him. Megatron was starting to like this femme. She was fiery, and anyone who could stand up like that to Starscream, or himself for that matter, was held in high regard in his book.

"Again, why is Stripes so damn special?" Razor piped up again.

Megatron growled. "Razor. Begone. Leave us..." He waved a clawed hand.

"Um... What?" Razor didn't like being bossed around.

"You heard the man, Razor." Cross said, shoving him into a nearby lift. "If he says make like Micheal Jackson and beat it, then you make like Micheal Jackson and beat it." With that, the lift closed, with him inside.

Mia returned her gaze to Megatron. He looked back into her pink optics with surprising sincerity.

"I'm sorry you have to find out this way, Townsend." He said, regret in his voice. "But Stripes... Carlos... He was never human to begin with, and your questions confirmed my suspicions of that. He is part of a great legend of our people. A legend that is starting to coming true. I believe he is the son of Primus, our creator..."

Mia's optics widened. "What?"

"Show them the images of the tablets on the main viewer, Starscream." He ordered. Starscream did so. The main view screen of the ship changed from the view of cold space, to images of an engraved metal tablet. It almost looked a mix of Egyptian and Greek art, except for the symbols. Images of Both Autobots and Decepticons decorated the slabs, rallying around one being; A Cybertronian whom was descending from the arms of what she assumed was Primus, with what appeared to be robotic angel wings. Sword in hand, it looked as if it was getting ready to do battle with another godly figure, from below. Cross and Mia looked closer at the being descending from Primus' arms, and saw it!

"Its Stripes..." Mia whispered in awe.

"Yes." Megatron said. "He is destined to stop the third coming of Unicron. The chaos bringer. You could call Unicron, the "Hades" of Cybertronian legend and myth. Show us the next tablet, Starcream."

The screen then flickered to a new tablet. Stripes was on it again, landing on earth as a human.

"The prophecy states that Primus transmitted a piece of his spark to a far away  
planet, to be born and hidden among its people until he is needed, born to uncertain parents, prior to these events." The screen switched again, to Stripes in bot form, healing what looked like a wounded Autobot in his arms, with several others laying down on the ground around him.

"One of the myths of the son of Primus is that he will bring back those whom had fallen to stop Unicron's second incarnation, to aid him, including a prime. He will perform this miracle of breathing back life to several beings."

The screen then switched to a third tablet. This one showed Unicron erupting out of the surface of earth.

"According to the prophecy of the son of Primus, in one stellar cycle, or year, after his second defeat, Unicron will rise again, from the crust of the planet he was sealed in, to bring chaos and death to the universe. Starting with Cybertron. His second defeat was ten orbital cycles ago. In your time, that would be ten months."

The screen then switched to a tablet, showing the battle for Cybertron. "The son of Primus will not be without aid, according to the prophecy. Both Autobots and Decepticons shall join together to battle alongside him, to combat Unicron and his Allegiance. Unfortunately..." The screen then switched to what appeared to be the final tablet, and Mia gasped, her hands over her mouth. Even Cross' optics widened. It showed Stripes, fallen in battle, a prime holding his corpse.

"NO!" Mia cried, tears welling up in her optics.

"Unfortunately... he will be forced make the ultimate sacrifice, to save us  
all... I'm sorry." Megatron finished. Mia started to cry, sobs shaking her frame as she buried her optics in her hands, tears flowing. Megatron put a hand of comfort on her shoulder. It was all he could do. He couldn't say everything was going to be alright, because it wasn't. This would be a troubling time.

"...There is one more tablet, that may offer you some hope." He said.

"Why?" Cross asked with curiosity.

"Because it shows it." Megatron answered. The screen then switched to a final, damaged tablet. It showed hieroglyphics below Stripes, whom were on it in bot form, holding each hands with a bot in veils, as two sparks intertwined above them.

"The heiroglyphics read, 'the lover shall allow his spark to live on.' We could never understand that, as there was no mention of any lover in the prophecy until this point..."

Cross looked at the tablet, then at the crying Mia next to him. He always wondered if there was a thing between them. If this tablet meant what he thought it meant... could she be the one?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Cavalry

Starscream and Shockwave walked by Stripes' cell, when there was an unexpected, loud bang. Then another, and another.

Starscream marched over to the cell, opening the slot. "What in Primus' name are you doing in there?!"

"I'M _THIRSTY_!" Stripes hollered back, clearly moody, hitting the door. "AND I'M SICK AND TIRED OF WAVING AT THAT STUPID CAMERA, SENSOR, OR WHATEVER THE DAMN THING IS! DON'T YOU GUYS KEEP YOUR PRISONERS NOURISHED?! I WANT _SOMETHING TO DRINK_!"

"Alright, I get it!" Starscream snapped. "Calm down, don't blow a circuit! What do you want?"

"Got any Diesel?" Stripes asked with a smirk.

Starscream felt his fuel pump turn over at the thought, a sour look on his face. "No I don't, you beast! That's disgusting!"

"Then get me some energon, top-grade! And refined!" Stripes snapped. "...And make sure it's filtered! I don't want any of your poisonous Decepticon chemicals in my fuel lines!"

"Don't worry your shiny little cranial unit." Starscream said with a sneer. "All of our Energon has been harvested and refined with polaric ionization. No chemicals needed." Starscream walked off in a huff to go get the energon, muttering something about attitudes of a sparkling in a bot's body.

Stripes then started to prepare himself for his strike against whoever opened the door next. Megatron would learn his lesson. After all, it's not wise to anger a street racer.

# # # # #

Meanwhile, Mia was in the refueling area of the ship with the others, getting their energon rations. Mia sat alone at one of table-like structures with her can, feeling down.

"So, I guess this would be considered the Mess Hall. At least on a human ship, anyway." Cross said as he got a can of energon as he sat down across from Mia. He then saw Razor come back, taking a long drink as he walked, his robotic head thrown back in a dramatic fashion as he gulped it down.

"Heh. Guzzler…" Cross muttered.

Razor lowered the can, taking a breath through his intakes.

"Ahh… Only way I'm ever going to chug this stuff down without lookin' at it." Razor said.

"What's wrong? Let me guess: It's the color." Cross taunted.

"Hey, you try downing what-could-possibly-be-radioactive space juice! I'd like to see you try drinkin' it, copper!"

Cross looked Razor straight in the optics, a cocky grin on his faceplates. He picked up his can of energon, and took an agonizingly slow sip without taking his look off of Razor. "Tastes fine, if you savor it."

Razor looked sickened, and not just in attitude. A nearby Decepticon recruit was walking by and noticed Razor's sickened look.

"What's with you?" The Decepticon asked. "You look like you are going to purge..."

"I'M _FINE!_ " Razor snapped, turning his brazened attention to the poor recruit. "Now _beat it!_ " Cross just laughed as the poor recruit ran off.

"Classic!" Cross said. "Classic Razor!"

"Shut up." Razor growled, and sat down next to Mia. "So what's up with you?" He asked Mia. "Don't tell me you are still sulking over wonderboy..."

"Go away." Mia said flatly.

Cross looked at Mia, and immediately scooted away, giving Razor a look that he recognized. They both gave Mia some space.

# # # # #

Shockwave monitored Stripes' vitals at his terminal near the cells. Everything was normal, for now.

Then, the console went off the charts. Stripes' spark pulse went off the charts, his oil and energon pressure going through the roof! No 'bot could withstand this kind of stress!

"Alert! Alert! I need a mechanical team here!" Shockwave alerted the Crew.

Then, just as quickly as they had spiked, Stripes' vitals flat lined.

Shockwave ran up to the cell door, and slammed his fist on the control pad, opening the door. It flew open in a snap. Shockwave ran in.

Stripes was nowhere inside the dark cell! All that was there was the vital recorder they attached to his chassis! He looked around. Nothing.

Unfortunately, he didn't bother to look up, as Stripes dropped from the ceiling, clubbing Shockwave on the head with a metal bar, knocking him out.

"Now, let's smash up the help, and get out of here. That'll definitely re-align my chi." Stripes said, running out of the cell.

 _Nemesis_

 _The Bridge_

Megatron looked out at the stars on the view screen as they passed by. Then, Soundwave ran up to Megatron. He played back footage of Stripes escaping from his cell from the security feed.

Megatron got up from the captain's chair. "Get a security team down there! Keep him detained. I'm afraid I have to handle this personally..."

Soundwave bowed, and input some commands on a nearby terminal alerting security.

# # # # #

Stripes knocked out a few more guards, taking their weapons. He ran for the aft of the ship, plowing and shooting his way through the crew that were in his way. One thought kept him going: Cybertron! They had to still be at Cybertron!

He ran into a fighter bay. Grabbing a bunch of plasma containers, he threw them at the door to the bay, and fired a blast from one of his guns that he liberated from the crew, then ran behind a pillar to avoid being blown out from decompression.

The plasma containers exploded, blasting open the bay door, tools and crates flying this way and that as they bay depressurized. Stripes covered his optics to shield them from the blast's light. He looked out the bay door as the light faded.

Cybertron wasn't there! They were moving through space, but Cybertron wasn't there!

"Oh, no!" Stripes panicked. "No, no, no, no, no… There's got to be another way out…"

"Why do you still resist, Stripes?" An all-too-familiar voice asked. Stripes slowly turned around.

Megatron was looming over him!  
Stripes jumped and rolled away from Megatron, distancing himself from the Decepticon.

"I'll _never_ give in! And I'll _never_ forgive you for turning me into this!" Stripes snapped, raising one of his stolen blasters. "You've turned me into a freak! You took everything from me!"

"I _gave_ you back everything, Stripes!" Megatron snapped. "You were _never_ human. Calm down, and let me explain..."

"NO!" Stripes yelled, firing multiple shot at Megatron, despite them having little effect. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Stripes didn't see Cross until it was too late. Cross shot a blast at Stripes' weapons from his arm cannon, knocking the blasters out of Stripes' hands.

"Would you calm down?" Cross demanded, coming out of the shadows with Razor behind him.

Stripes was stunned. "You converted more?"

"He converted all of us." Another familiar voice said.

And out from behind Megatron, walked Mia.

"No… No, you're with _them?!_ " Stripes exclaimed.

"Carlos, listen to me!" Mia snapped. But Stripes was now crushed. He looked out through the blown open door. Into space, into the open void.

"No, Look at me! CARLOS, LOOK AT ME!" Mia pleaded.

Stripes did not turn away from the void. He then did the unthinkable.

He ran for the open door, and jumped. Out into space, out into the empty void.

To him, there was no other way…

# # # # #

Stripes looked around as he flew through space, away from the Nemesis. There was no other way to get away from his enemy. He would rather die, starving for energon out here, than submit to Megatron.

It was then that he passed by several other ships, flying past him at High speed. They had the Autobot insignia on their hulls!

"No, wait! WAIT! GUYS, I'M HERE!" He yelled.

They didn't turn back, proceeding to attack the Nemesis. Figures, Stripes thought. They probably didn't even read me on their sensors.

His body spun around, and he saw he was heading for a small planet. It looked similar to earth, thought he continents were all wrong. Stripes then saw the planet grow larger, and larger in his field of view! He realized he was caught in it's gravity well!

Stripes closed his optics, tucking his knees into his chest as he rolled up into a ball, readying himself for impact…

# # # # # #

Bumblebee piloted the _Salvation_ with the _Jackhammer_ and several smaller ships close behind, starting to open fire on the _Nemesis._ Strangely enough, after the first few volleys the Autobot ships received a cease-fire request.

"Something is not right." Bumblebee muttered. "Cease Fire! Arcee, let's open up communications. Maybe Megatron has an explanation for what's going on here."

Arcee did as she was told. Megatron appeared on the viewscreen.

"Megatron, you have a lot to explain of yourself for kidnapping a human, let alone turning him into one of us..."

"I know that, scout, but we don't have a lot of time! If we don't find that single individual soon, then all is lost!"  
Bumblebee eyed Megatron suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

Megatron sighed. "He is the Son of Primus, and I have proof!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Unknown Planet

Stripes awoke in a large crater. His systems had been forced to go into a stasis lock to prevent his critical components from overloading from the heat and pressure of re-entry. He groggily climbed out of the crater and looked around.

He was standing along a strip of desert between a volcanic field and a jungle. He figured the Jungle would be the best place to make himself scarce. So, he transformed into vehicle mode, driving off towards the jungle. Once he got near the outer edge, he changed back to robot mode, and walked into the vegetation. As he went deeper in the jungle, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He looked around, but nothing was there. Stripes continued into the jungle, cautiously treading over the terrain. He looked over his shoulder, thinking he had heard the clanging of metal. Nothing was there, though.

"This place gives me the creeps..." Stripes said. Then, he heard a roar to his left.  
Standing nearby was a huge cheetah, and it was clearly angry.

"Uh… Nice kitty..." Stripes stammered, slowly backing up. Stripes then bolted through the brush, jumping over logs and obstacles that the Cheetah had trouble traversing. He was now running for his life!

"Bad day bad bay bad day BAD DAAAYYYY!" Stripes yelled. Then, Stripes felt something snap around his leg, and he tripped, feeling the wire yank him off the ground, and up into a tree.

"AW, CRAP!" Stripes exclaimed, dangling from the tree like a Christmas ornament! He was helpless, considering his Gatling Arm Cannon was still offline from earlier. The Cheetah approached, slowly walking up to the ensnared Stripes, as he noticed the serrated teeth of the Cheetah weren't natural! They were some sort of tritanium alloy. Stripes struggled in futility to free himself from the snare, as the Cheetah drew closer and closer, a rumble in its throat.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Stripes thrashed and tugged a the cable holding him up, but it just wouldn't let go! It was then he realized from his optic scans, it was made of some sort of elastic titanium!

But that could not compare at all to what happened next. As soon as the Cheetah was in striking range, it transformed! Into a bipedal robot with weapons! It was Cybertronian!

"Finally, fresh energon..." The animal bot said, licking its lips.

Stripes could do nothing else but let out a frenzied scream.

# # # # #

 _Nemesis_

Bumblebee looked over all of Megatron's "proof" that Stripes was the Son of Primus. So far, he was putting up a very convincing argument.

"So, according to your scans and recorded video from your optics, when you tore him from his car on earth he was already starting to go through the 'metamorphosis' according to the tablets?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yes." Megatron said. He froze a specific shot. "Look here, at his blood when I am lifting him from the car after he crashed. Do you not find it odd that it has changed color from the usual human red to an oily blue?"

"Oh, really?" Wheeljack was extremely skeptical. "How do we know you haven't altered the video somehow? They can be easily faked these days..."

"I had a feeling you would say that," Megatron replied. "So I had a sample of his blood taken before I accelerated his metamorphosis through a nanite-based solution." Megatron went over and picked up a canister of fluid, which was the same oily blue as the so-called "blood" in the video. "Scan it yourselves. It will have the same signature as Stripes' internal systems."

The Autobots scanned the container. Sure enough, it had Stripes' signature.

"...This will do, for now. But don't forget, I have my eye on you." Wheeljack said, pointing a finger at Megatron. "Now, I guess we should focus on finding Stripes before he gets hurt."

"Agreed." Bumblebee said. "Let's scan the area for his signature. He couldn't have gotten far."

# # # # # # #

 _Meanwhile, back on the Unknown planet…_

Stripes was unable to move as the Cheetah-bot held him against the tree with a carbon mono-filament blade against his chassis as he hung upside down in the snare.

"L-l-look, man! You don't want my energon! It's… It's unclean! I've been drinking a lot of petrol-based fuels recently, it's not pure!" Stripes begged.

The Cheetah-bot sighed leisurely as he activated a homing beacon on it's chest. "Here, it's the law of the jungle; you take what you get."

"No, please!" Stripes panicked. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, but then the Cheetah-bot moved the mono-filament blade to his neck, right near a vital energon line. Stripes went silent.

"Cheetor, what in the name of Primus are you doing?!" An authoritative voice snapped.

Both Cheetor and Stripes looked over to their left. Coming out of the brush was a large silver back gorilla, a Velociraptor, a giant rat, and a wolf with eagle wings on it's back. They changed to robot mode as well, just like Cheetor had.

"Well, what do you think of my catch, Boss-bot?" Cheetor asked in an eager-for-approval voice, turning to the gorilla-bot. "Not bad for a first hunt, don't you think?"

The rat-bot clapped it's hands slowly in a sarcastic manner. "Congratulations. You caught a sports car..."

"Yes, that' s right! I caught a…." Cheetor then cut himself off. "Wait a minute..."

"Cheetor, You caught an Autobot!" Primal scolded. "I highly doubt he would make a suitable trophy, let alone a good supply of techno-organic energon!" Primal then sighed. "However, I do have to commend you on your hunting skills. You are getting better at stalking and chasing, so I'll give you that much..."

"Yeah, that's all good and well..." Stripes spoke up. "Now would s _omeone get me down from here?!"_

Cheetor sighed, and with a swift swipe cut the snare with his blade, causing Stripes to fall ungracefully onto the ground.

"OW!" Stripes exclaimed, hitting the ground face-first!

"Now the only question is, what to do with the sports car?" Primal said. "For that matter, who are you in the first place?"

Stripes got up, rubbing the back of his head. "...My name is Stripes. I am from the planet Earth. I used to be known as Carlos, though. But that's a long story..."

Everyone went silent. Primal then walked up to Stripes, looking into his optics with a piercing yet wise glare.

"Uh..." Stripes stammered. He was now feeling uneasy again.

"Let's go." Primal said. "You're coming back to our base with us. To the Axalon."

"Wait, what?" Stripes started to protest. "I appreciate it, but I've got issues of my own, and..."  
Primal then drew one of his saber blades, cutting Stripes off as he pointed the blade at him. "This isn't up for discussion. Men! Escort him back to the ship!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Axalon

Stripes was forcefully escorted through the jungle with Cheetor and Rattrap's guns at his back.

"Is this really necessary?" Stripes protested.

"Quiet, you!" The Velociraptor-bot, who was ironically named Dinobot, snapped as he whipped his sword towards Stripes' neck.

Stripes groaned. "Can it get any worse than this?"

Then a thunderclap was heard overhead, and it started to rain.

"…Obviously, it can." Stripes sulked. "I should have known better to ask that..."

They continued to tread through the jungle, until they came to a cliff side. Along that cliff side was a massive starship! Almost as big as the Nemesis!

They walked alongside it until they came to a hatch. Primal opened it. They all stepped inside, out of the rain.

"So, what do we do about him?" Rattrap asked.

"Take him to one of the empty quarters." Primal ordered. "Make sure there's security around him at all times. I don't want him taking a step out of that room." Primal said as the hatch shut behind them.

Stripes then was escorted several decks below, where he was shoved into a room with a recharge berth, and a few amenities.

"Be good, and don't break anything!" Dinobot snapped as he slammed the door shut. "I just finished refurbishing those quarters two solar cycles ago!"

Stripes was nervous. He then walked over to the recharge berth and got settled in despite being uneasy. The berth seemed to emit an energy field of some sort. It soothed his nerves somewhat. After falling through an atmosphere and trudging through a desert and a jungle, along with everything else that had happened, he was exhausted. He finally slipped into a much-needed recharge cycle, letting the field envelop him as he lay in the berth.

# # # # # #

 _One Day (Solar Cycle) Later…_

Stripes jolted awake as there was a loud banging on the door of the room! He was startled awake, and fell out of the berth!  
Then, Cheetor came in, opening the door. "Come on, rise and shine!" Cheetor snarled. "Boss bot wants to see you in ten, so make sure you are awake!"

Stripes scrambled to his feet as Cheetor slammed the door shut again. "What's his problem?" He wondered out loud. "Aw, scrap! Why am I even asking? I obviously ruined his hunt! Now I don't know what's going to happen… Geez, why do I always have to get the short end of the stick?"

"Oh, if only you knew how short the 'stick' is!" Cheetor laughed, outside the door. "Primal and Dinobot have you set up for an interrogation. After all, you have a lot of questions to answer!"

"This just keeps getting worse by the minute..." Stripes muttered.

"Two tips: Don't lie, and don't anger Dinobot. Last time someone riled him, well… All that could be salvaged was their manifolds."

Stripes gulped. He was now unsure if he was going to survive this.

Cheetor escorted him a few decks back above, and into the interrogation room. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as he feared; a chair and a bunch of computer consoles, with various readouts. Though there were several vials of some sort of fluid with a type of injector on the table. Dinobot and Primal were already inside.

Dinobot immediately grabbed Stripes roughly by the shoulder and shoved him into the chair. Stripes was nearly petrified with fear, he didn't realize what primal was doing until it was too late. Primal had the fluid injector in his hand, and had located an energon line on Stripes' arm.

"Try to relax. This won't hurt." He pressed the injector in, then attached one of the vials. Stripes began to feel weird, his circuits going into a temporary fritz, then he blinked his optics a few times.

"Now, let's begin." Primal stood up. "First Question: Who are you?"

"I… I used to be known as Carlos Lopez, a human. Twenty-one years old." Stripes explained, unable to stop the words flowing from his vocalizer. "I was changed into a Cybertronian several cycles ago by the Decepticons. I've been on the run from them ever since."

"Load of Slag, Primal!" Dinobot snapped. "I've heard better from a Predacon jet-fuel junkie!"

Primal frowned. "Teletran one, analasis."

The computer consoles output data on the screen for a few seconds. After that, the computer spoke.

"Analasys: Oil pressure is stable, no fluctuations detected. Spark pulse: normal. No anomalies detected. Subject is being truthful."

Dinobot was stunned. Primal raised an optic ridge.

"Okay… Next Question: If you were captured by the Decepticons, how did you escape?"

Stripes could tell he was going to be here for a while.

 _Meanwhile, on the Nemesis_

The Autobots and Decepticons had just relocated Stripes' singal. It was coming from an Earth-like planet, on an equatorial continent near a cliff-side lake.

"Are you sure he's there?" Megatron asked Starscream.

"Positive." Starscream replied. "His signal is there. No doubt."

"Do we have any info on that planet, Wheeljack?" Bumblebee asked.

"None." Wheeljack answered. "It's a complete unknown."

Bumblebee looked at the planet on the holoprojector. "Set a course. Get us there as fast as possible. Make sure your weapons are charged. Be ready for anything."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Truth

After several days of interrogation, Stripes was back in the same quarters he was in earlier. He was trying to get some recharge time again, but he kept having bad fluxes every time he shut off his optics.

It always seemed to revolve around a single, gargantuan robot chasing him through his dreams. Every time it seemed he was caught, he awoke with a startled jolt.

He awoke again from another flux, nearly falling out of the berth. He then heard a laugh outside the cell.

"Yes?! What now!?" Stripes asked, snippy. Then Cheetor walked in.

"Good morning?" Cheetor asked.

Stripes got to his feet. "That's a matter of opinion, what is it?"

"Boss-bot has been looking over your story, and after analyzing every single bit of historical logged sensory data we have from the past few days, he thinks you are telling the truth." Cheetor explained. "Well, that and there's several ships heading this way from out of the system on our long-range scanners."

"So, you finally believe me, huh?" Stripes said.

"Don't push your luck." Dinobot said, walking up. "Primal wants us to bring you to him, so don't get any ideas."

They escorted Stripes to the craft's bridge, through many twists and turns through the decks and lifts. After going through the final lift, they ended up on the bridge. Primal was sitting in a large chair in the center of the room, on a platform overlooking all the other posts around him.

"So, you were changed against your will, and are on the run from the Decepticons." Primal said. "That explains how you ended up here, and the reason why there are ships in this system according to our historical sensor data… What strikes me as odd, however, is that there are both Autobot and Decepticon ships. Both of them have been scanning the system and it's planets in concert with each other. Is there something else I should know about?" Primal gave Stripes a look that spelled out his distrust.

Stripes was shocked. "Scanning in concert with each other? I didn't know about this! This is news, even to me!" He looked at the sensor data.

"Don't forget: I'm watching you. We all are." Primal warned. "If this is a show of treachery, you will not live long."

"This isn't a show of treachery!" Stripes put his palm up to his faceplates. "Look, I can't explain why they are working together. I don't have the answers..."

That's when an alarm went off at one of the Stations. It was Cheetor's.

"Boss-Bot! We've been painted by one of the ships in orbit! They have a weapons lock on us!" Cheetor exclaimed.

Stripes scowled. "Which ship?"

Cheetor brought up the design on the screen. It was the scout ship, _Salvation!_

"What in the…?" Stripes was now confused. "Can you contact that ship? Maybe I can talk to them!"

"Opening communications..." Rattrap said, pressing a few buttons at his station.

Bumblebee appeared on screen.

"Bee, what are you doing?!" Stripes snapped.

"I could ask you the same thing." Bee said. "You're not damaged, are you?"

"No!" Stripes said. "But I might get damaged if you don't release your weapons lock!"

"Apologies. Just standard procedure." Bee said.

"The weapons lock has been canceled." Cheetor reported.

"Now would you explain why you are in that ship?" Bumblebee asked.

"Sure. After you explain why you are working with the Decepticons." Stripes countered.

"I'd rather discuss that in person. We will land near your ship. Expect to meet up in about two hours." Bumblebee said.

The transmission then cut.

# # # # #

Stripes waited outside the Axalon as Bumblebee drove up with Arcee and Ultra Magnus from the Salvation. Megatron was there with Starscream, but they kept their distance as the Maximals were outside with Stripes in robot mode. Ready to attack or defend.

As soon as Bumblebee, Arcee, and Ultra Magnus were face-to-face with Stripes, they transformed to robot mode.

"Bumblebee, what the hell is going on here?!" Stripes asked.

"It's not simple to explain." Bumblebee said. "Is there someplace we could speak about this? Not out in the open?"

Stripes then noticed the look in Bubmblebee's optics. Something was not right.

"Bumblebee?" Stripes asked. "Is there something I missed?"

"Yes. A very big something." Arcee answered for Bumblebee.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Word Spreads Like Wildfire

"Wait, what?!" Stripes was baffled. "...Could you recap all that information?"

"Stripes, from all the information we've been able to gather from Megatron, and all the tablets he has, along with tests we've ran on your energon readings, everything he has claimed is true. You are the descendant of Primus! The Descendant of our creator!" Bumblebee explained again.

"What?!" Primal exclaimed. "He is the Son Of Primus?!"

Cheetor made a gulping sound. He was now nervous. Dinobot was now on his knees, bowing down at Stripes' feet.

"...Are you sure you don't have the wrong Autobot?" Stripes asked, nervous and confused.

"Stripes, come with us back to the Nemesis.I will make sure you are not harmed, and that they treat you with respect. You will not be hurt." Bumblebee assured.

Stripes looked at Bubmblebee, leery.

"Please. You have my word." Bumblebee said. "I promise."

"...Alright, fine." Stripes said. "I'm holding you to that promise, Bee..."

"We're going, too!" Primal said. "I need to see this for myself."

"Very well." Bumblebee said.

# # # #

Blackarachnia nearly fell out of her perch when her audio receivers heard the words that had left the yellow Autobot's vocalizer! The blue and silver Autobot, named Stripes, was the Son of Primus? He was here, of all places?! She whipped the scope of her arm canon towards Stripes' face, zooming in. She was not going to forget that face. Aside from the Maximal called Silverbolt, she was not going to forget the face of this Autobot. She took a quick recording of the Autobot with her optics, then transformed back into her beast form and quickly made pace back to the Jade Order's spacecraft on the other side of the planet!

She had to tell Indominus Rex!

# # # # #

"WHAT?!" Indominus Rex roared after viewing and listening to Blackarachnia's report. "...Is this accurate?! This better not be some sort of bad joke, Blackarachnia!"

"It's accurate. Believe me, I was in hearing distance of the whole thing." Blackarachnia said. "I heard it all with my own audio processors. Apparently these Decepticons have the tablets of legend that depict who the Son of Primus is, and they've said in the conversation that they ran tests on his energon to confirm it."

"Bzzz! Waspinator does not like this turn of events! Waspinator does not want angry descendant of Primus around! Descendants of Primus and Unicron dangerous! Set galaxies on fire!" Waspinator groveled, unnerved.

"Cool your jets, hornet boy!" Scorpinok said, walking into view from the darkness. "We still have not seen any actual evidence to back up the claim of this so-called "Son of Primus!" I say we scrap his chassis right now, just for daring to make such a statement!"

"No!" Indominus Rex snapped. "That would be a waste! Especially if his claim is true. We should think this out in a more… methodical fashion. If he is who he claims, then we should test him ourselves. Yesss….. We shall put him through some trials. After we lure him here, with the right ultimatum."

# # # #

 _Nemesis_

 _Secure storage area_

Stripes was awe-struck as he viewed the tablets and all the tested evidence that Megatron had presented. He was now unsure of what to think, as all of the evidence added up!

"...How? How is this possible?" Stripes was still trying to wrap his mind around this. "Is this even conceivable? I… I don't even… I'm Robot-Jesus, or something?!"

"I know that you are confused, and most likely afraid right now." Bumblebee said. "It's going to take some getting used to, I know. Just don't let it intimidate you, or make you doubt yourself."

"Bee… I'm getting very scared here… What does this all mean?" Stripes asked.

Bee shrugged his shoulder struts. "I do not know, Stripes. I do not know… All I do know is that we need to start to teach you how to defend yourself. If Megatron knows this, he most likely isn't the only one. There will be others after you. The Deprived."

Stripes blinked his optics. "The Deprived?!"

"Servants of Unicrion that have gone mad from their exposure to Dark Energon." Megatron explained. "They use it for centuries until it drives them mad. They will no doubt be aware of your presence and will try to hinder us at every turn. We need to teach you to fight, and find your weapon. The Matrix Blade."

"And what exactly is that?" Stripes asked.

"A weapon of great power." Ratchet explained, bringing up the historical references on a computer. "It can compare with the Star Saber if combined with the artifact known as the Eye of Primus. According to these historical records, the last ones we know of to posses these artifacts were the Maximals and Predicons of ancient days..."

Primal shifted his position slightly. "...We have it." He said.

Everyone's eyes turned to Primal.

"We were meant to be the keepers of the blade. We are it's sworn guardians." Primal explained. "We have kept it safe for over several millennia. We took the blade from it's original resting place on Cybetron far before the Autobot-Decepticon war was starting to break out. That was when the Maximals left Cybertron in the great Exodus. We buried the blade In a temple we built on the planet."

"Looks like we have to go back to the planet..." Stripes said.

 _On the Planet…_

 _Hidden Temple in the jungle…_

Stripes entered the temple with Bumblebee, Megatron, and Primal. The rest of the group waited outside. They had just come up on a large door with a pedestal in front of it.

"Place your hand on the pedestal." Primal instructed.

Stripes did as he was told, placing his hand on the pedestal. The entire thing lit up, then the light spread to a carved channel that went to the door! It immediately unsealed, and opened!

"We made the temple to respond to you." Primal explained. "Follow me."

They followed Primal to the main chamber, where they saw a giant blade that looked like a claymore in shape, but very techincally advanced! It had a large core, like a greatsword from medieval times would! It was stuck in a pedestal, welded to it in the center of the chamber!

"Pull it from the pedestal." Primal said. "Only you can."

Stripes walked up. He grabbed the handle of the blade, and the pedestal lit up with heiroglyphics! The Temple seemed to flow with energy that went through the sword, making Stripes' fingers tingle! He gave a hard yank, and the sword came out from the pedestal!

There was no more doubt! Stripes was the Son of Primus!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Indominus Rex's ultimatum

Bumblebee watched as Stripes looked over the Matrix Blade. He looked troubled by something.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"...Why me?" Stripes asked, lowering the sword. "Bee, I never asked to be a hero. I never asked for... this." He motioned to himself. "Are you sure I am the one to slay Unicron? …How do you know you and the others have not made some mistake?"

Bee rested a hand on Stripes' servo. "I don't think there is a mistake. The fact that you were able to take the Matrix Blade for yourself is more than proof enough. I know it's difficult, transitioning from your earth life, the life you knew, to the life you have now… All I can say is, don't forget it, but don't let it bring you down, either."

Primal then walked up. "If you are getting ready to go back to your ship, I wish to go as well. So do some of the other Maximals. We still wish to help, and none of us have seen Cybertron for ages..."

Arcee then tacked Stripes to the ground unexpectedly.

"Woah! Arcee, get off me!" Stripes snapped. Arcee put a hand over his mouth, and pointed to a nearby tree. There was a rocket-powered dart sticking out of it with a message attached to it.

"You nearly got shot." She said flatly.

Everyone was on alert now. Cheetor, Silverbolt, and a smaller mech, Rattrap, went up and examined the missile.

"...It's from them, Primal." Rattrap said. "This is Scorpinok's handiwork."

Silverbolt picked the message off the missile, a small datapad. He proceeded to read. "Son of Primus, if you really are who you claim to be, take your team and whatever Maximals are bold enough to follow, then meet us at our base; the active Volcano several clicks southwest from here. I am eager to see if you are who you claim to be. You have three planetary solar cycles. After that, we will seek you out ourselves. You have been warned. Signed, Indominus-Rex of the Jade-Order Predacons."

"There are Predacons here?!" Ultra Magnus exclaimed.

Stripes was in a different mode of thought. "Indominus-Rex? Predacons? Seriously?"

Primal sighed. "I was afraid this would happen. Yes, Ultra Magnus, we were pursued by one Predacon ship when we left Cybertron. There was a space battle, that's how our ship became part of the cliff. It crashed into it. Their ship, however, crashed near a volcano, as the ultimatum says. At first, we had some disagreements, and there was fighting. But after several vorns, we saw we were getting nowhere, and made a treaty with Indominus-Rex and his Predacons. We've had a… mutual understanding type of relationship with them, so long as we stay out of each others' territories. However, it appears your group's arrival puts a new twist on things."

"Well, duh!" Strips said simply. "That's not a big surprise. It seems everyone wants a piece of me these days..."

"Do you think it's a good idea to go, Bumblebee?" Arcee asked.

Bee shrugged. "I don't think we have a choice in the matter. We'd better get geared up for the journey. Maybe take some backup, too."

# # # # #

 _Several Hours Later..._

 _Outside the Predacon ship..._

 _Volcano…_

Bumblebee gazed at the harsh, ancient lines of the Predacon spaceship with Stripes, Megatron, Arcee, and Ultra Magnus. They had went back to the _Nemesis_ and brought backup in the form of Mia, Razor, Cross, Knockout, and Wheeljack.

Wheeljack whistled. "Looks like a beauty with a nasty tune… for old tech, anyway."

"This is… not going to be fun." Razor said.

"Don't tell me yo' scared." Cross taunted.

"Don't tell me yo' not." Razor countered.

"Not as much as you." Cross continued.

"All right, children. Focus." Ultra Magnus said. "We need to figure out what these Predacons want with Stripes, and why."

They walked up to the spaceship's outer hull. A hatch opened in front of them.

"Enter! If you are bold enough!" A deep voice said.

"...Why don't I like the sound of that?" Stripes groaned as they made their way into the star ship at the voice's beckoning.

"Stay alert." Bumblebee cautioned. "This feels like a trap.."

They heard a loud buzzing overhead. They saw it was a giant wasp. It then transformed in front of their eyes!

"Bzzz! Lord Indominus-Rex requests your presence! Waspinator was ordered to lead you to Indominus-Rex! You follow Waspinator!"

Stripes was unsure. "Bee, I don't like this..."

"I don't see why we shouldn't why we shouldn't follow." Cross said. "He looks harmless enough."

"...Says the guy who's obviously never poked a hornet's nest." Razor muttered.

The group then followed Waspinator through the ship to a large chamber. It was very dark at first, even for the Autobot's optics, which were having trouble adjusting.

"Greetings, Autobots and Decepticons alike. Thank you for accepting my... invitation." The deep voice boomed through the chamber. A light then lit up, revealing a Tyrannosaurs Rex above them, standing next to a throne. It then transformed to robot mode, like Waspinator did! Stripes figured that was Indominus-Rex.

"Now… Which one of you is the bold individual that has claimed the title of the Descenant of Primus?" Indominus Rex asked, sitting down in the throne.

"That's none of your..." Bumblebee started, but Stripes stopped him right there by stepping forward, raising his hand. It took him every once of courage to do so, as he was unsure of the Predacon's intentions. That, and Indominus Rex seemed very intimidating, even as he sat in his throne.

"...I am." Stripes said, trying to be brave as he could as he drew the Matrix Blade off of his back. "I am the Son of Primus. What do you want with me, Indominus Rex?"

Indominus Rex raised an optic ridge, looking at Stripes as he stood there. "You carry the Matrix Blade, I see. But that still does little to reinforce your claim." He said dismissively.

Indominus Rex then waved a hand. Suddenly, force fields sprang up between all the Autobots and Decepticons, separating them from each other by four sections! Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Stripes were in one section. Knockout, Razor, and Cross were in another! Mia and Arcee were in the third section, and Ultra Magnus was trapped with Megatron in the last section!

"It is time to see if you can reinforce your claim, Son of Primus! It is time for you to face the trials!" Indominus Rex said, as he sat back on his throne. "You will now have to choose which one of your comrades will die."

Predacon foot soldiers then rushed in, followed by a giant scorpion that transformed!

"Which one shall it be, Son of Primus?" Megatron asked. "Perhaps the large blue mech? Or maybe the red one? Or maybe the lovely red and white femme?"

Stripes looked up to Indominus with righteous fury. "I am not taking part in this! I refuse to play this game, Indominus Rex!" Stripes snapped, slamming down the tip of the Matrix Blade onto the floor in a show of force.

Indominus Rex just sighed. "You are not in control here, even though you think you are. If you will not choose, then I guess I shall choose for you." Indominus Rex raised his arm canon, training a targeting laser on the Autobots and Decepticons, going from one to the next, deciding on which one.

After a few agonizing moments, the laser stopped on Bumblebee.

"Men! I want that mech dismantled. Bolt by bolt." Indominus Rex said simply. The Predacon foot soldiers started to close in on Bumblebee.

"No!" Stripes charged at the foot soldiers circling Bumblebee, hacking and slashing at the foot soldiers, assisting Bumblebee as he shot at the Predacon soldiers.

"Tsk tsk. I should have figured you wouldn't obey the rules…" Indominus Rex then trained his targeting laser on Stripes, charging up his arm cannon!

Bumblebee then looked up from firing his weapon! He saw what Indominus Rex was going for! He was going to shoot Stripes while he was occupied!

"STRIPES, LOOK OUT!" Bumblebee yelled, rushing towards Stripes just as Indominus Rex's arm cannon finished it's charge! He shoved Stripes out the way just as he fired, taking the blast with his own body! The shot burrowed deep into Bumblebee's chest, causing him to slide back across the floor, sparks flying up as metal contacted metal as he slid into the wall!

Stripes looked up, and his Spark skipped a few cycles. "BUMBLEBEE!" He yelled, running over to him with Ratchet close behind. Bumblebee's optics flickered, then faded.

Ratchet bent down over Bumblebee, his arm changed to a scanner. "By Primus… It hit him straight in the spark chamber!" He quickly changed his arm to a jump-starter tool, and hooked it hastily up to Bumblebee.

"Clear!" Ratchet ran a surge of energy through Bumblebee's spark chamber, attempting to re-start his spark. It didn't work. Ratchet tried again, and again. "Dammit, Bumblebee, don't give up! DON'T GIVE UP ON ME NOW, YOU RECKLESS PISTON HEAD!"

"Seems your followers have some devotion." Indominus Rex mused. "It's a pity that devotion led to his demise, though it does show how far they will go to protect you. I admit, this does reinforce your claim some, but you have a long way to go..."

Stripes turned to face Indominus Rex. "You killed him! YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU KILLED HIM!" Stripes yelled, lubricant running from his optics.

"Well, I was actually trying to kill you. But yes, I killed him." Indomius Rex replied. "Interesting insult, I admit as well. In all my vorns, I've never heard that one. Though if you truly are who you claim to be, you should be able to fix this. Figure it out, So-called Son of Primus."

Stripes looked back down to Bumblebee. Ratchet was stoic. He had stopped trying to revive Bumblebee. "...There's nothing more I can do." He said, saddened.

Stripes just looked at Bumblebee. The big burn on his chest where he was shot, combined with the deep pit that was left there was tearing him apart inside.

"No..." Stripes said, his optics shining a bright gold. "I won't let it end like this… I WON'T!"

Stripes' optics then shined brightly, as he raised a hand. It glowed a bright gold, just like his optics were right now. He set his hand on Bumblebee's chassis, as the light continued to brighten! Everyone in the room had to adjust their optics to compensate for the brightness as it continued to increase! Ratchet had to hold his hand up over his face as he was barely able to see! Somehow, the light from Stripes' hand was emitting a sort of energy! Then he saw on his scans, that Bumblebee had a spark pulse again! He did a double take! It was true! Somehow, Stripes had brought Bumblebee back from the brink! The light started to fade, and Bumblebee looked as if he had never been shot!

The light then completely faded, and Stripes fell to his knees, holding onto the Matrix Blade.

"Stripes!" Ratchet exclaimed, wrapping Stripes' servo over his shoulder. "… Are you alright? What happened?!"

"...I don't know." Stripes said weakly, his optics back to their normal color. "I'm just… very tired."

Indomius Rex was amazed. He had never seen anything like this in his entire existence. "Well.. This certainly proves your claim. Yesss…. Only Primus or his kin have the ability to create or tamper with life. I now see I was wrong." The force fields then dropped, and the Predacon Foot soldiers then fell back. Indominus wrex then picked up something from the arm of his throne and threw it into the pit.

"Take that with you. You will need it to bring out the Matrix Blade's full potential. I… Wish you luck with your hunt for Unicron, Son of Primus. Yes, You have much ahead of you." Indominus Rex grinned. "Now you must go. Scorpinok will show you out."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The Deprived

"That's it?" Razor asked, nervous. "We are free to go…?"

Indominus Rex looked at the ceiling lazily. "But of course. Unless you wish to face an army of Predacon foot soldiers..." He grinned.

"That won't be necessary." Cross said, pulling Razor away as Stripes' team started to walk towards the exit, following Scorpinok.

The ship then shook sharply. Dust fell from the ceiling as the ship vibrated.

"What was that?!" One of the Predacons asked.

"Indominus Rex, someone is firing on us, and it's not the Maximals or the ships in orbit!" Blackarachnia said.

Indominus Rex looked to the main viewscreen in the room. "The Deprived… Scorpinok! Get the Son of Primus and his followers out of here immediately! We don't have a lot of time!"

"This way!" The group began to run through the decks of the ship as Scorpinok guided Stripes and the Autobots to the exit of the ship. As they ran, Stripes could swear he saw another motorcycle bot, kinda like Arcee, expect it was a chopper-style motorcycle with alien styling with a rider comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger riding it! It seemed to be chasing them as they ran through the ship.

They quickly reached the outer hatch, just as it was opening. Right as they exited the ship however, they were greeted with even bigger problems.

"He _is_ here! Lord Unicron was right! He lives, all this time he lives! But now he shall live no more!"

Stripes and his group were face-to-face with several different Cybrtronian transformers! One looked like he changed into a tank, the other a jet! Another seemed to hover above them, holding mini jets like a battlecrusier, another seemed to have a military attack helicopter vehicle mode! The last one, was all-too-familiar. It was an almost exact clone of Megatron, only with many improvements!

"What is this?!" Megatron demanded. "Has Unciron had me... cloned?"

"Not just cloned, fool… Rebuilt from the ground up!" His double shouted. "Behold! I am Galvatron, taker of sparks! And I intend to add the Son of Primus's to my grand collection! Cyclonus! Scourge! Swindle! Attack!"

"Oh, scrap..." Stripes made a gulping sound. The group scattered, avoiding the incoming fire. But the majority of the Deprived attacks were focused on Stripes!

"STRIPES! RUN!" Megatron yelled, tacking his double. The rest of the group then started to run interference against the deprived, blocking them from getting to Stripes!

Stripes had little choice but to comply. Despite fighting with the Predacon foot soldiers earlier, he didn't have enough strength, nor experience to deal with this threat. He changed to vehicle mode and peeled out, narrowly missing a few missile strikes by Cyclonus!

Cyclonus pursued Stripes, firing on him but missing many good shots with his machine gun, and every hit with his missiles! Stripes scanned the area around the base, and found a small mountainous region nearby with a network caves! He had little choice but to take that route!

Eventually, Stripes reached the caves! He dove in, full throttle as Cyclonus pulled up to avoid becoming part of the rockface! Stripes then used his sensors to find a way out of the tunnels, the transformed, intakes cycling rapidly. He looked around. He was alone. All that was left was to wait for the Autobots to find him again, hopefully before the Deprived caught up to him.

"Impressive driving back there." A voice said to his side.

Stripes whirled around to see the chopper motorcycle again, with it's rider! Then, the rider vanished into thin air, dissolving into light! A hologram!

"Who are you?!" Stripes demanded, readying his arm cannon.

The chopper motorcycle then transformed! Into robot mode, though it didn't' have an Autobot or Decepticon insignia!

"I'm not an adversary, if that's what you are asking." He said. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am a drifter, of sorts. My name is Sideways, and you've stumbled on one of my many hiding places."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The Drifter Sideways

"...Sideways?" Stripes raised an optic ridge, lowering his cannon. "The names I hear just keep getting more and more creative."

"Creativity is in the eye of the beholder." Sideways replied. "To us Cybertronians, it is second nature."

"I guess so." Stripes said. "So what brings a 'bot like you all the way out here on the fringes of known space?"

Sideways leaned casually against the rock face. "I just kind of drift from place to place, wherever the current takes me."

"Just wherever the wind takes you, eh?" Stripes smiled. "Sounds like you must have some tales of your own to tell, more or less heard the tales of others."

"I have heard many tales, of both fame and infamy." Sideways said. "All through my existence, and throughout my travels. But I just… don't settle down, if you catch my drift."

Stripes face seemed to soften a bit. This guy had seen some mileage. He had also done something he had always dreamed of doing: traveling from one place to the next, just following the current where it took him. "If I may ask, Just how long have you been traveling solo?"

Sideways gazed at the sky. "...I left Cybertron shortly after I was conceived and learned enough to survive on my own. That was… at least two-hundred-and-five thousand vorns ago, during the age of rust on Cybertron..."

Stripes raised his optic ridge. "This may seem like a silly question, but are you familiar with human time units?"

Sideways simply nodded.

"How long would two-hundred-and-five thousand vorns be in human years?" Stripes asked.

Sideways looked at Stripes. "Over seventeen million."

Stripes' optics widened. "You are that old?!" He exclaimed.

"Don't be surprised." Sideways said. "Back in the day, I had seen our kind live for five times that lifespan. I guess after all I've heard about Cybertron in my travels, I'm probably one of the lucky ones, anyway. After I left, I heard a large planetary war broke out and extinguished the planet. We have been scattered to the winds, sadly..."

Stripes looked to the sky. It was getting dark. "Perhaps… yet hope can prevail, if given the chance… Just what caused you to leave Cybetron, if I may ask?" He asked.

Sideways looked up to the sky. His optics were dull, a sad shade of violet. "...I've always told others that it's none of their concern, but it's about time I told someone this. I would at least hope for someone to understand, at least. Before my time comes, whenever that is. I travel, or did travel, for Cybetron's security, and for hope that it would not be harmed. Stripes, even thought I do not want anything to do with it, I've been born of evil… I am a spawn of something very, very terrible, and very destructive… A being that could mean the destruction of our race, and the cosmos itself..." A tear of lubricant ran from one of Sideways' optics.

Stripes looked at Sideways. "A spawn of evil? What do you mean?"

Sideways then looked back to Stripes, fear in his optics. It took him all the courage in his spark to say the next five words. Words that would shake Stripes to the core, change Sideways' path in life, and set both their destinies in motion.

"…I am the offspring of Unicron."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Revelation

Stripes did a double-take on Sideways. "Jigadawha?"

Sideways sighed, continuing on. "Right now, I pity the Son of Primus. I bet Unicron has my brothers, the Deprived hunting him now that he has awakened."

Stripes' optics brightened in shock. "...What exactly do they look like?"

"Give me a moment to access the files..." Sideways looked to the ground, and his optics emitted a hologram of each of the deprived. It was Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and Swindle. The 'bots he saw earlier that attacked him!

It took Stripes a few seconds to process a response. "...Yeah, those look like some bad 'bots..." He finally said.

"Indeed, they are." Sideways replied. "Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and Swindle. The Four Harbingers of our destruction, and they have now been unleashed upon the universe to find the Son of Primus..."

Stripes got an semi-bad idea. "...Hypothetically speaking, if the Son of Primus was right next to you at this very moment, what would you do? What would you say to him, Sideways?"

Sideways looked at Stripes. "Well… I would start by saying I'm not truly allied with my father. I would ally myself with the Son of Primus, because I know if my father was to defeat him, it would spell death, destruction, and doom for our entire universe. That, and my father would be guaranteed to go mad afterwards."

Stripes' felt at least some relief. At least this one had sense. "I've got a ship that's coming to pick me up. Why don't you come with me? It might be a while before another ship arrives to take you off this planet… Think about it."

Sideways looked up to the sky, processing his decision. "...You do make a valid point. Very well. I will come with you. One Condition: Tell me who you really are."

Stripes looked alarmed. He realized the jig was up. He had revealed a lot more information than he should have.

Sideways looked at Stripes straight in the optics. "Let me make myself clear, Son of Primus: I am not your enemy. I meant it when I said I would ally with you. Unicron has to be destroyed. There is no other alternative..."

Stripes stared back at Sideways. "You knew from the moment I mentioned the name, I guess?"

Sideways nodded. "Yeah. You kind of made it a bit obvious from that moment."

That's when the wind started to howl around them. Stripes looked up, and saw the Nemesis hovering above them in the atmosphere! A search light shined down on both Stripes and Sideways, illuminating the darkness around them!

"Here's our ride..." Stripes said.

A groundbridge then appeared in front of them! Stepping out of it was Megatron, with Ultra Magnus!

"Stripes, we must go! It's time to leave!" Megatron snapped with urgency. "We don't have a lot of time! Primal and Indominus rex are fighting a delaying action against the Deprived so we can escape!"

"That's our cue." Sideways said.

Stripes ran forward, with Sideways in tow. The next moment, they were all on the Nemesis, safe and sound. It burned jets out of the sky and out of orbit of the planet.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Unity

"Glad that you found me." Stripes said.

"We feared we were too late." Megatron said. "Luckily, that is not the case. Shockwave, get us out of here." He ordered over his communicator.

Shockwave went to the helm of the ship, and maneuvered the ship away from the planet, exiting the atmosphere.

"Now, on to other pressing matters. Who is this new… acquaintance you've met?" Megatron asked.

"A drifter. But I think he can help us." Stripes said. "His name is Sideways."

Megatron looks over Sideways, suspicious. "You sure we can trust him?"

Stripes put on a poker face. "I'm pretty sure we can. He had the perfect opportunity to kill me earlier. If he didn't then, I don't see why he would now."

Megatron glanced over at Stripes, then Sideways again. "Very well. I will have quarters assigned for him." Megatron then walked off back towards the front of the ship, yet skipped the lift to the bridge. "In the meantime, Stripes, I need to teach you the ways of combat. Next time, you need to be ready. Come with me. Both of you."

"Combat training, huh?" Stripes said as he followed Megatron with Sideways. "Alright, where and when do we start?"

It was then that one of the doors opened to reveal a large training area on the deck. It was well-lit, yet barren of any other objects. It had a sterile gray hue to it's color.

Megatron then turned to face Stripes. "We start here, and now. Ready your sword and spar with me. Both of you. You have much to learn. Thankfully, you have the Kaon Gladiator Champion to teach and guide you. But eventually, we will need a second teacher."

Stripes drew the Matrix Blade off his back, preparing himself. "...And, who is this second teacher?"

"When you are ready, Stripes." Megatron said. "When you are ready."

# # # # #

Meanwhile, Primal and Indominus-Rex watched Stripes, along with Sideways train with Megatron on one of the viewsceens.

"Ah, the youth is quite impressive." Indominus-Rex mused. "I've never seen a Cybertronian with such impressive combat capabilities. Then again, being the Son of Primus it is only expected he would have such combat capabilities available to him. Even though they are unrefined and quite crude at this point..."

"Agreed." Primal said, reluctantly. "Though I hate having to agree with you, Indominus..."

"Oh, how it pleases me to have the great Primal of the Maximals agree with me." Indominus smugly replied, rubbing it in. "Let me just savor this moment..."

"I'm not going to reply to that." Primal said flatly.

Indominus-Rex just grinned. Then, they were interrupted by a loud electrical crackle, followed by Waspinator flying around erratically before crashing into a nearby bulkhead.

"Waspinator, What in the pit did you just do?" Indominus rex said with a deadpan.

"W-W-Waspinator re-regrets being c-c-curious ab-b-b-out decepticon st-st-starship..." Waspinator answered, convulsing with feedback. Indominus just facepalmed.

# # # # #

Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and Swindle landed on the ice of Antartica after departing the _Revenge,_ the starship Unicron had gifted to them.

Unicron stirred. "My heralds… you return. But you were not successful..."

"No, father." Galvatron answered.

"Galvatron, you have failed me." Galvatron and the rest of the Deprived then felt a sharp pain in their spark chambers! "I will not tolerate failure from any of you."

"Father..." Galvatron begged. "Spare us… Sideways betrayed us! He's sided with the kin of your mortal enemy! The Son of Primus!"

Galvatron paused, stopping the torture. He then let out a roar, as the earth quaked around the ground the Deprived stood upon! The ice began to crack, and shatter! A Unicron avatar then erupted up from the ice, in his true and terrible form with a terrifying roar!

"This is why you don't send your heralds to do your job for you..." Unicron said. "I will have to deal with him myself. In the meantime, track down your treacherous brother! I will be waiting outside the Kuiper Belt of this system until you find him."

# # # # #

Megatron and Sideways suddenly collapsed in pain in the training area as they sparred with Stripes and Bumblebee!

"Woah! Sideways, what is it?" Stripes ran up to the former Unicronian herald!

"Augh… It can't be..." Sideways gripped his chest in pain. "My… father… He has... awoken!"

Stripes felt his fuel pump turn over and stop for a few seconds. "...What?!" Stripes exclaimed. "...How?!"

"Whoa, Who's father?" Bumblebee asked, completely confused. "What are you talking about?"

Stripes made a gulping sound. He knew neither Bee nor Megatron would like the answer.  
"...He's a herald of Unicron." Stripes answered. "He wanted to defect..."

Bumblebee got on his communicator. "Arcee, get the crew together for an emergency meeting. We have some bad news..."

# # # # #

Everyone sat down In the briefing room, wondering what was going on. Sideways was in Energy cuffs under Megatron's orders, which Stripes had protested against. His protests however, were in futility as they entered the briefing room.

"Megatron, is this really necessary? He pledged his allegiance to me..." Stripes continued.

"He is a security risk!" Megatron snapped. "You should have told me this in the first place when you met him!"

"I was trying to figure out an appropriate time and place, Megatron!" Stripes snapped back.

"Alright, what's going on?" Ultra Magnus asked as he was the last to enter the room.

Megatron had Sideways stand up in the center of the room. " _This_ is what's going on! This is a herald of Unicron! I fear he was sent to infiltrate our ranks!"

"Oh, that's just lovely." Indominus-Rex's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You didn't have a first clue at "Herald of Unicron?" He looked in Stripes' direction, raising an optic ridge.

Stripes facepalmed. "For the last time, he swore his allegiance to me! He knows what will happen if Unicron succeeds! If he really was trying to infiltrate our ranks, he could have had many opportunities to kill me already! Hell, he would have done it on the planet if he wanted to!"

"That's just Prime, but you should have still considered the risks!" Primal added in.

"I did." Stripes said, looking at Primal in the optic. "I figured it would make more sense to have someone with Intel on Unicron and the Deprived."

"Oh yes," Indominus-Rex said, drawing out his sentance. "Bring someone from the other side into the heart of our operations.

Brilliant logic."

"Stripes does have a point, though." Bumblebee said. "Sideways has had more than enough opportunities to offline Stripes by this point. Maybe he truly is our ally."

"You shouldn't be arguing like this." Sideways interjected. "My Father has awoken! Even now I sense he is trying to track us down! If he doesn't find us in by the end of the Stellar Cycle, we're all doomed! He'll go after Cybertron itself! We need to accelerate your training, Stripes!"

"...And how long is that in human terms?" Cross asked.

"...One Stellar Cycle is one of your Earth Years." Bumblebee answered.

"Oh, Crap!" Razor bolted out of his seat. "That's less than eight months from now!"

Stripes looked up to ceiling in despair. "Oh my god… How in the name of my father do you expect me to do this in _eight months?!_ "

"Well, you are now Cybetronian. That won't be as a monumental of a task as if you were still human." Sideways said. "As a Cybertronian, you have greater memory, and better retention."

"Plus, we believe you can do this!" Mia said. "Where there's a will there's a way, right? Don't give up on us now, Stripes! You've already done things many would consider impossible! I mean, you did raise Bumblebee back from the dead!"

Bumblebee put his hand on his chest near his spark chamber. "Yeah, kid. You kinda did..."

"...Plus, you've got us to help you! Now let's put aside our differences and help you stop this apocalyptic threat!" Mia finished.

Everyone nodded in agreement, some grudgingly.

"We must make haste to Cybertron." Megatron said. "Perhaps by speaking directly to your father, you will realize your destiny."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Father

 _Cybertron – Well of All Sparks, Cybertron's Core..._

 _Three days later…_

Stripes and his group walked on down to Cybertron's core. They were getting close, according to Arcee.

After another hour, they stopped at a sealed grate.

"From here, you will have to proceed alone." Megatron said.

"Wait… Why?" Stripes said.

"Beyond that gate is a sacred place, enforced by the will of Primus himself. That is a place we cannot go. Only you, a Prime, or a priest of Primus can step in there. Unfortunately, all of the priests were lost during the war and the last Prime is dead. So this is a place only you can tread. From here, your path is forged."

"Yeah… no pressure, man. Just our race and the fate of the universe at stake. You know, standard Cybertronian stuff." Rattrap said.

Stripes gulped. With that, he stepped in front of the grate. It parted, and revealed a path. Stripes took one last look at his group, specifically at Mia.

"Be brave." She whispered. "You can do this. We'll be here, waiting for you to return."

Stripes turned back towards the path, and started to walk. In the process, he almost tripped on a half-melted Decepticon that had tried to enter the core several centuries earlier as the grate closed behind him.

"Oh god..." He said, looking at the corpse. "What a nice, fun place of peace and love..."

He continued to walk, careful in his steps as he approached an unstable bridge. He carefully crossed the decaying bridge, and continued down the path as it got darker. Stripes was uneasy, but was not about to let his fear overtake him. He switched on his headlights and went to night vision.

A short time later, he saw a light down the path. It was coming towards him!

"Hello?" Stripes called down the path. He walked closer towards the light, as it came closer to him. Stripes then saw it was another Cybetronian! Stripes stopped, as he saw the other bot, which was taller than him by a full three meters! It glowed a neon blue, and looked transparent!

"We have been waiting for you, Son of Primus." The bot said. "I am Alpha Trion, the High Priest of Primus. Follow me, I am to take you to Primus himself."

With that, the both walked down the path towards another light.

"...Has he been expecting me?" Stripes asked, curious.

"Quite so. In fact, he's been looking forward to this moment since your conception." Alpha Trion answered.

"But how did he know that… that I would become a cybetronian, since I was human before?" Stripes asked, puzzled.

"Well, Cybertronians and Humans share a similar spirit. The Spark and the Soul are basically the same thing. All it takes is the proper transfer, and the soul can be interchanged between a Human and Cybertronian body. It's a long, complicated process, and we have more serious matters to attend to."

They continued to walk, until they reached the core itself. It was lit up a bright neon blue, just like Alpha Trion's ghost.

"You have returned to me, my son." A voice said, reverberating through the cavern.

"…Father?" Stripes asked, afraid. "So you are…?"

"I am Primus." The voice spoke, reverberating from the core. "I formed the very planet that the Cybertronian people walk upon, and return to, in hope of a better future. I am here to guide you along the path, to destroy Unicron the Chaos bringer, before he destroys the universe."

"But… How can I stop him?" Stripes asked, desperate for an answer. "I've only brought back Bumblebee, and it still left me weak… I cannot take on Unicron in this state, let alone save Cybertron… I don't know what to do, I'll never be able to stop him..."

The light from the core lit up, engulfing Stripes and Alpha Trion as Stripes crouched down, shielding himself from the light as wind whipped up in every direction.

"Who gave Cybertronians their power?!" Primus thundered. "Who made our people in the forms of the deaf?! The mute, the seeing and the blind?! Was it not I?! Now go!"

It was then that Stripes felt his body begin to float! He opened his eyes, and was surrounded by other sparks!

"Oh, my son. I will be with you when you face the chaos bringer. You will try to reason with him, but he will not listen." Primus spoke softly. "So I shall tether to you my power, and you will smite the Chaos Bringer with all my wonders..."

Stripes then saw his body glow the same neon blue as Primus himself. He felt an energy flow through the Matrix Blade, He drew it off his back, and saw it was ablaze with it's own light! He watched as the Eye of Primus floated up from his hand, and embedded itself into the hilt of the blade!

"Take the blade in your hand, Stripes." Primus said. "With it, you shall do my wonders, and slay the Chaos Bringer. You shall finally bring peace and prosperity to our people. I shall be with you, always..."

Stripes then floated down towards the ground, and stood there, holding the now awakened Matrix Blade.

He now knew what he needed to do. He now understood his destiny.


	20. Chapter 20 - Revival

_One day, twelve hours later…_

 _The grate to the Well of All Sparks…_

Megatron paced back and forth, on edge with the whole situation. It had been thirty hours since Stripes had went through the grate.

"What's taking him so long?!" Megatron snapped suddenly. "He has been in there for over a day! Why must he delay?!"

Indominus Rex folded his arms with a snide look. "Oh, Megatron. Your patience is an example to us all..."

Megatron tuned to face Indominus with a glare that could have melted titanium alloy, when the grate suddenly opened.

Out walking through the grate, was Stripes in vehicle mode! Everyone noticed there was a difference in his form! His vehicle mode was a mix between his old BMW M3 form and a Cybertronian Hovermaster MK VI hovercar! His paint had changed as well, the silver and blue colors of his paint changing from a standard gloss to a more metallic shine!

"With all due respect, friendly fire isn't going to get us very far right now."

Megatron turned to Stripes, and was surprised. "Ah, Stripes! You look more properly Cybertronian now..."

"Well, there is little time for formalities." Stripes said as he transformed to robot mode. "We need to prepare for the Chaos Bringer... I am ready to start my combat training, and to learn how to focus and use my powers. I also believe this is a good time to introduce me to this 'other teacher' you mentioned on the _Nemesis_."

"Indeed." Megatron agreed. He got a piece of what appeared to be a helmet out of his subspace pocket. "It's time to resurrect the last prime. With your proximity to Cybertron's core, it shouldn't drain you as much this time, if at all."

Stripes took the helmet fragment. He focused on his revival process, his optics glowing gold as dust and debris from days gone by whirled into a cyclone around him. The dust and debris began to transmute, and take form. It was an Autobot close to Megatron in height, with a blue, red, and silver paint scheme. The dust settled after the Autobot's spark started to beat, and everyone was taken aback by who was standing there.

It was Optimus Prime, back from the dead!


End file.
